Here are the solid air fryer frozen steak directions so it comes out tender, medium rare, and juicy. How to cook frozen steak like Ribeye, T-bone, Filet or Sirloin perfectly to pink and tender in a Ninja Foodi or Cosori!

It's easier than ever to cook frozen steak in an air fryer if you forgot to defrost dinner the night before. As opposed to using a pan or oven you can get the center to become pink and tender with a crisp on the edges that we can't get enough of! This is one of our favorite quick dinner air fryer recipes to keep on hand.

If you're forgetful like us, this is going to come in handy… we have made things like air fryer cube steak and others defrosted but we had to experiment with this. It had to be solid before sharing it with you.

Ninja Air Fryer Frozen Steak

You can use an AirWave, Cosori or make as a Ninja Foodi recipe and the temp and timing will remain the same. The only difference to keep in mind with the latter is that you need to use the lid that is attached. With larger baskets you could add firm vegetables on the side like cauliflower as long as they don't overlap, cooked in a single layer is important.

How Long to Cook Frozen Steak in Air Fryer

The average time is 16 minutes. It will vary slightly depending on how thick each one is, whether there is a bone, and how well done you like it. This cook time is a good place to start though, checking at 15 minutes is good to do the first time. Use our steak internal temperature chart for reference.

What type of frozen steak can you cook in air fryer?

Filet Mignon is the most expensive cut but the most tender and thicker as well. New York Strip is popular with marbling which provides a richer flavor. T-bone has well a bone in it which makes it a bit harder to slice when done but nice flavors. Ribeye has more fat than other which means they are tender and a popular cut. Skirt steak we love to make air fryer flank steak

make sure they aren't too too thick or the timing will need to be longer obviously than listed below. You can adjust and add more easily at the end if needed.

How Long to Cook Frozen Steak Bites in Air Fryer

We love bite sized air fryer steak bites too! Cooked for 5-7 minutes at 375 degrees fahrenheit, they're always a hit. If they are frozen though you would need to make sure to toss the basket ever 2 minutes to rotate and keep them in a single layer for best results too.

How do you know when frozen steak is done?

You do not want to rush things. Using a bit lower temp, will avoid the grey banding that may occur if you cook too fast where the outside layer cooks faster than the insides and becomes overcooked and dry. You can cook 2-3 at a time but they cannot overlap so the number you can cook at a time depends on the size of your basket.

Cook time below is for 1 inch thick, when cutting this in half to let's say 1/2 inch thick pieces you would follow the same temperature always but timing would be cut down by 2 minutes, 1/4 inch thick cook time would be cut in half.

Rare (120–125°F): 12–14 minutes
Medium Rare (130–135°F): 14–16 minutes
Medium (140–145°F): 16–18 minutes
Well Done (150°F+): 18+ minutes

Helpful Tips

Let us give you another tip so you get tender steak every time, whether it's rock hard or not. As with any sort of beef you should let it rest before you slice it. Why?? Resting allows the juices to stay in, and not seep out. In this case you MUST allow them to rest inside the air fryer basket after the cook time is up (so the center can reach the proper temp.)

We usually need a bit of time to finish up our side dishes anyway, so leave them there and beyond that keep them covered under foil until you sit down to eat.

The meat we used were ribeyes, 2 of them.
Each one was about 3/4″ thick.
18 minutes total, flipping halfway through gave us these results.
We would say they're medium well cooked.

Troubleshooting

Why is our steak tough? If you feel like the end result is not as tender as you might expect you likely cooked it too long. Red meat like this is better with more pink honestly. Take it from someone who used to order well done always until we tried a pink medium cut and it changed our world. Try that timing next go around and see for yourself.

Air Fryer Frozen Steak Recipe

By Frozen steak in air fryer directions so it comes out tender and juicy. How to cook frozen Ribeye, T-bone, Filet or Sirloin solid in Ninja Foodi or Cosori! Prep: 5 minutes minsCook: 13 minutes minsServings: 4 Save Recipe Saved! Pin Recipe Comment Print Recipe

Equipment

Ingredients

2 medium steaks, sirloin, 1 inch thick pieces
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Instructions

Brush olive oil on frozen steaks, on both sides.
Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides, along with any other seasonings you desire.
Preheat air fryer to 360 degrees F. Put frozen steaks in once preheated, not overlapping.
Set to 16 minutes total, flipping halfway thru. (timing will vary depending on how thick each piece is and how well done you want them to be). This is based on 1" thick pieces, cook time chart below in notes.
When time is up leave the basket alone and leave steaks inside to allow meat to rest and continue to cook thru for 5 minutes inside the basket. Then remove and slice against the grain.

Notes

Frozen Steak Cook Time

Based on 1″ pieces, for 1/2 inch thick decrease timing by 2 minutes, 1/4″ thin pieces cut cook time in half but for all flip half way thru.

Rare (120–125°F): 12–14 minutes
Medium Rare (130–135°F): 14–16 minutes
Medium (140–145°F): 16–18 minutes
Well Done (150°F+): 18+ minutes

Nutrition

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Entree, Main CourseCuisine: American Tried this recipe?Mention @thetypical_mom or tag #thetypicalmom!

How to Season Frozen Steak

With a bit of olive oil you can get any seasonings you like to stick fine. We love our steak dry rubbut plain salt and pepper works too. You can also sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides, along with any other seasonings or our tri tip dry rub.

Can you wrap with bacon?

We have made bacon wrapped air fryer steak when it is defrosted but when frozen the meat will only get to about rare to medium rare inside by the time the pork strips become crispy. If you are ok with that then wrap away with “normal” vs. thick slices for best results.

Serving Suggestions

Eat them with some frozen biscuits in air fryer air fryer baked potatoes or corn in an air fryer is fabulous. Total perfection right?

Air fried frozen foods have been a game changer for us! We work full time and although we cook food for a living, we don't always do it every day. We are forgetful as well. Eeeeek. If we don't have time for our meat to reach room temperature by the time 5p.m. rolls around, we need tips like this. We hope it helps you out too.

Reheating leftovers

Store when cooled in a sealed baggie in the fridge. When reheating you want to add moisture or it will dry out. You can do this in a pan over the stove or in the air fryer again at 360F but either way you want to put in with a pat of butter on top until warmed, rest again for 5 min., then enjoy.